ACOG and astigmatism

[JodyH]

In case you also own a -1 or better. Jody has all the toys, certainly that includes a NOD.

I'm more of a Flir kind of guy.

[TGS]

With my astigmatism I've never been able to put an RDS to good use past 50 yards....but ACOGs have always been crystal clear to me.

If you decide to go with a variable optic, give a hard look at Aero Precisions lightweight mounts. With that and selecting a 16oz scope, you can save over half a pound of weight compared to many poorly selected combos.

[JodyH]

As clumsy as I am and as often as I bang and/or drop my rifle on things I'm probably not a good candidate for lightweight scope mounts.

[ssb]

I tried a TA-45 (1.5x) as a sort-of red dot replacement because I have an astigmatism (I am nearsighted as well). With my glasses, it was sharp and crisp. Without them, the image was blurry, though I think that was more to do with the nearsightedness. I could still easily make out the tip of the triangle (aiming point), but the reticule was not as clear as it was with corrected vision (though definitely good enough, and miles ahead of the starburst I get with Aimpoints). And, for close-quarters stuff, when in doubt I could just place the red thing on the target and shoot.

Specific to the blurriness, it was basically a blown-up version of my not-glasses vision; distant things still appeared blurry (though slightly more distinguishable), while the close things were easy to see. This effect carries over to binoculars. I don't have much experience with magnified glass beyond this optic, but that's what I've got.

I ended up selling the TA-45, but it wasn't due to the crispness of the reticule/astigmatism concerns (to me the optic wasn't magnified enough to do anything special, and was slow enough up close to be a hindrance).

[shane45]

When I bought my TA11, green horseshoe it was mostly clear. Unfortunately at this point it is not. I was going to add a T1 at 1 oclock but....its just not clear enough anymore so I have had to switch to optics with adjustable diopters. So now I go for variables with daylight usable red dots.

[PD Sgt.]

With my astigmatism I've never been able to put an RDS to good use past 50 yards....but ACOGs have always been crystal clear to me.

This has been my experience as well, though with the newer 2moa Aimpoints, I find the bloom is reduced enough to make them useable further out. I had several of the 1.5 ACOGs, as well as a TA01 and they were crystal clear. I only got rid of them due to brightness issues indoors.

The other optic I have had success with is a Short Dot. Even on 1.1 power, I am able to keep the dot crisp without any tails. When I zoom up to 4x, the reticle stays crisp, but the dot gets big enough that I usually turn it off. The trade off here is the weight of the scope, it is pretty heavy compared to other options, including the full size ACOGs.

[TGS]

This has been my experience as well, though with the newer 2moa Aimpoints, I find the bloom is reduced enough to make them useable further out. I had several of the 1.5 ACOGs, as well as a TA01 and they were crystal clear. I only got rid of them due to brightness issues indoors.

The other optic I have had success with is a Short.1 power, I am able to keep the dot crisp without any tails. When I zoom up to 4x, the reticle stays crisp, but the dot gets big enough that I usually turn it off. The trade off here is the weight of the scope, it is pretty heavy compared to other options, including the full size ACOGs.

Any scope with an adjustable focus should correct the astigmatism regardless of magnification. Its no different than wearing glasses, really.

I cant remember if i tried the 2MOA dots, specifically. Most of my RDS time has been spent on Eotechs. I can hit a clay pigeon at 50 yards with regularity, but at 100 yards the best i can do is the upper thoracic area of the average male. Pretty shitty considering with iron sights I can still do 2" groups on demand without effort.

I am significantly limited by the use of an RDS.

[JHC]

Any scope with an adjustable focus should correct the astigmatism regardless of magnification. Its no different than wearing glasses, really.

I cant remember if i tried the 2MOA dots, specifically. Most of my RDS time has been spent on Eotechs. I can hit a clay pigeon at 50 yards with regularity, but at 100 yards the best i can do is the upper thoracic area of the average male. Pretty shitty considering with iron sights I can still do 2" groups on demand without effort.

I am significantly limited by the use of an RDS.

My experience also. Exactly. ACOGs here have looked pretty good to me (TA01, TA33, and the 1.5x whose numero I forget)

[JodyH]

Received the ACOG 3x30 .308 reticle today.
Much crisper without glasses than an Aimpoint, but still a tiny bit fuzzy.
I can see the stadia lines good enough to put it on a 8" plate at 400, which is about as good as it gets for me with uncorrected vision and 3x magnification.
With my glasses on it's crystal clear and I can get the full 600 meters out of it.

A actual etched reticle like a Meopta K-Dot or Leupold VX-R is still much crisper all around, but I just don't want the added weight and fragility of a variable on this rifle for what I'm going to use it for.
Mounted on my H&K MR762 it is going to be my desert camping rifle, which means it'll get carried some, ride around in a UTV gun rack or truck seat some and get banged around a lot all while covered in sand and silt.
"Good enough" for minute of man out to 600M without glasses and 8" plate at 600M with glasses is all I need.

[JHC]

The TA33 is an awesome scope. It's fairly forgiving of eye relief, which is longer than many ACOGs but its field of view is narrower. Yet that narrower doesn't really seem to hinder performance. I studied Rob S's ACOG and mini-ACOG reviews years ago incessantly and do like those rugged little scopes.